Playing catch up: Ferrari will be a ‘good step faster’ in Canada

Both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen showed some decent speed in Monaco but were unable to claim podium finishes, with the former finishing fourth, while the latter was third early before a string of issues saw him 12th past the chequered flag.

But Ferrari technical director James Allison said on Tuesday the Italian Formula One team will improve significantly at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

“In Monaco, we continued to analyse the areas in which the F14 T can be improved,” Allison said.

“Now we are looking ahead to the next race in Canada, where the package we will use is a good step faster than the car we raced last weekend.”

Ferrari have only registered one podium finish in 2014 so far with Mercedes dominating.

Alonso and Raikkonen have combined for 78 points to take Ferrari to third in the constructors’ championship but Mercedes (240) are well clear at the top of the standings.

Allison warned that any improvement from Ferrari might be matched by the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull, who sit second with 99 points.

“While our development programme has progressed well in recent weeks, it is hard to predict exactly what this will mean for the competitiveness of (Ferrari’s car), as we do not know what steps our competitors plan to bring to Montreal,” the 46-year-old Brit said.

“So any improvement has to be seen in relative terms, hoping that the track will deliver an answer worthy of all the efforts we have made so far.”